Ribbon



June 11, 1940.

E. HYMAN 2,203,322

RIBBCN Filed July 25. 1935 ATTOR 5.-.Y5

Patented June 11, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE 5 Claims.

'I'his invention relates in general to ribbonlike strips adapted for use in the textile and cordage arts, and in particular to an improved tying -ribbon comprising a strip of non-brous flexible material.

The ribbons heretofore formed from strips of non-iibrous flexible material have been characterized by such stil'ness and inflexibility as to give rise to numerous disadvantages when used in the textile and cordage arts. Chief among these disadvantages is that the stiffness and inherent springiness of the non-brous material make it difficult to tie the ribbon into a knot. Another disadvantage arises from the fact that the ribbon, when folded, tends to bend sharply at a single point instead of over a considerable aiea, and thus has few characteristics in common with woven ribbons made of textile fibers which, of course, are capable of ilexing in all directions and which lie flat when bent or knotted.

The inherent stiffness of the ribbon of the prior art is not overcome by increasing the amount of plasticizer which is normally incorporated in non-fibrous sheet material. The reason for this lies in the fact that there is an upper limit to the amount of plasticizer which can be incorporated in non-fibrous sheet material without rendering the surface of the material permanently tacky. If the sheets are permanently tacky, the contiguous surfaces stick together when rolled and hence cannot be fed continuously through an automatic folding machine. Moreover, it would be objectionable to have a ribbon the surface of which was inherently tacky, as this wouldtend to soil the hands and damage the goods bound by the' ribbon.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a ribbon formed from a sheet of nonbrous material which shall have substantially the characteristics of a ribbon woven from textile laments.

It is another object of the invention to provide a colored ribbon formed from a strip of noniibrous sheet material and characterized by a new and novel decorative effect resulting from variations in the color of the strip.

It is a specific object of the invention to provide a tying ribbon formed from a strip of nonfibrous sheet material and which is characterized by having a high flexibility and lack of springiness, whereby the ribbon can be used in the textile and cordage arts with the facility of ribbons woven from textile filaments.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

According to the invention, a ribbon adapted for use in the textile and cordage arts may be formed from a sheet of non-fibrous material which has been slit into narrow bands or strips, theribbon being formed from a single strip folded lengthwise upon itself or from a plurality of strips at least one of which is non-fibrous, the strips being laminated together and/or folded about each other so as to form superimposed plies. The ribbon of the invention is further characterized by having a layer comprising a plasticizer disposed between the superimposed plies of the material formed by folding or laminating, which plasticizer imparts to the strip a permanent flexibility and tends to decrease the inherent stiffness and springiness of the non-fibrous material. A ribbon having novel multiple-tone color effects may be produced by starting with a colored sheet material, variations in shade and color resulting from the folding of a strip of the colored sheet material or from an association of two or more strips having different colors.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figures 1 to 4 inclusive represent as many embodiments of the ribbon of the invention formed from a single strip of non-fibrous material;

Figures 5 to 13 inclusive represent as many embodiments of the ribbon of the invention formed from a plurality of. strips of non-fibrous mate- `rial; and

Figures 14 and 15 represent two embodiments of the ribbon of the invention in which there is employed an extraneous strengthening material in association with `strips of non-brous material.

The ribbon of the invention is formed of at least one strip of a non-fibrous material. The non-fibrous material may be a material swelling in water, such, for example, as regenerated cellulose; alkali-lsoluble cellulose ethers and cellulose oxy-ethers, gelatine, casein, and the like; or the non-brousmaterial maybe a material swelling or dissolving in organic solvents but not swelling in water, such, for example, as cellulose esters, cellulose ethers and cellulose ester-ethers, synthetic plastics such as polymerized vinyl resins, chlorinated rubber, and the like. The sheet material is preferably transparent and may be co1- ored, embossed, printed, metallized, and/or provided with a waterproof coating.

A layer comprising a plasticizer is disposed between any or all of the continguous surfaces present 4in any of the embodiments of the ribbon of the invention shown in the several gures of the drawing. The plasticizer employed is Vcharacterized by being a non-drying owable at ordinary temperature and pressure, composition which mayI swell but does not dissolve the non-fibrous material. Suitable plasticizers for non-fibrous materials swelling in water comprise the polyhydric alcohols, such for example as glycerol; the glycols; the glycol ethers, such as diethylene glycols.

With the non-fibrous materials swelling in water it is preferable to use a plasticizer which is hygroscopic whereby to maintain the exbility of the material. When the ribbon is formed from strips of non-fibrous materials which are dissolved or swell in organic solvents but not in water, there may be employed between the plies a layer of a non-hygroscopic plasticizer, such for example as tricresyl phosphate,l dibutyl phthalate, and esters of lieto-aromatic acids.

The plasticizers may be used singly or in compatible admixtures with each other. Interesting decorative effects may beproduced in the article of the invention by employing a plasticizer l which is colored or which is admixed with a col- The plasticizer is used preferably in the form of a thin layer disposed between the contiguous surfaces of one or more of the superimposed plies in the ribbon. The plasticizer may be disposed between the plies in a continuous layer throughout the length of the ribbon or in predetermined areas at suitable spaced intervals.

Referring to Fig. 1, a simple embodiment of the article ofthe invention comprises a single strip I6 of the non-fibrous material which is folded upon itself lengthwise thus forming a narrow ribbon having superimposed plies and having disposed between the plies a layer I1 comprising the plasticizer for the non-fibrous material. Ordinarilythe surface tension of the plasticizer will be sufiicient to hold the overlapping plies in position, so that no adhesive is required between the plies. However, if desired, a layer I8 of adhesive may be disposed between' all or a portion of the contiguous surfaces, for example as shown in Fig. 1.

The manner in lvhich the strip is folded to form a ribbon may be varied as desired but in *the preferred embodiment of the invention the strip is so folded that the number of plies is not the same transversely of the ribbon, that is, throughout thewidth of the ribbon. This inequality in the number of layers of material imparts to the ribbon a new and novel diversity of decorative eects. For example, in Fig. 2 the longitudinal edges of the strip I6 are folded first inwardly toward each other and then outwardly to give the 8shaped fold I9. Alternatively, the strip I6 may be taken of sufficient width. to form a structure as shown in Fig. 3 having a double reverse fold 26 which produces pleats 2I in each edge of the ribbon. In this ribbon the plasticizer may bev disposed, in the interior of the ribbon only, and/or in the pleats. The ribbon shown in Fig. 4 may be formed by folding the longitudinal edge of the strip I6 twice upon itself or by coiling the edge and flattening the coil to form the double fold 22. The plasticizer may be disposed between any of the contiguous surfaces of any of the folds of the ribbons shown in Figs. 1 4.

In another embodiment of the invention a ribbon is formed from a plurality of strips which are folded or laminated together. When the ribbon is formed from a plurality of strips, the strips may be of the same width, as shown in Figures 6, l1, 14 and 15, or they may be of different widths, as in the structures shown in Figures 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13.

For example, the longitudinal edges of a wide i strip I6 may be folded inwardly to form a narrow fold so as to leave the major portion of the strip consisting of a single thickness of material. There may be disposed within thefolded portions an insert 23, as shown in Fig. 5. This insert 23 may comprise a narrow strip or band of fibrous or non-fibrous material which may be colored, embossed, or otherwise decorated.

To form the ribbon shown in Fig. 6, two strips I6, I6 of the same rwidth are disposed one upon the other with their longitudinal edges slightly offset. The overhanging edge of each strip is strip. If the two strips forming the ribbon shown in Fig. 6 are of different colors, the ribbon will have a novel three-tone color effect due to the fact that the central portion of the ribbon comprises two layers,-one of each color, whereas the lefthand edge 24 of the ribbon comprises two layers of one color and one layer of the other while the righthand edge 25 comprises one layer of the first color and two layers of the second.

A ribbon having an interesting two-tone colorl effect may be produced by forming the ribbon of two strips one of which is narrower than the other and disposing the narrower strip central of the wider strip. The wider strip I6 is folded upon itself and the narrow strip 26 laid lengthwise over the seam formedl by the edges of the strip I6, as shown in Fig. 7. Or the narrow strip 26 is disposed in the same plane and between the folded edges of the wider strip I6, as shown in Fig. 8. In a third example of this type of ribbon the narrow strip 26 is disposed beneath the seam formed by the edges of the wider strip I6 and interiorly of the ribbon, as shown in Fig. 9.

If the strengthening of the ribbon is not a material consideration, the wider strip I6 need not be folded at all but may be laminated with the narrow strip 26 centrally disposed thereon, as shown in Fig. 10. l'n this latter embodiment i the layer I1 comprises preferably both an adhesive and a. plasticizer and, if desired, an adhesive deposit I6 may occupy the angle between the strips I6 and 26.

In all the embodiments shown in Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10, it is preferred that the narrow ystrip 26 be of a color different from that of the wider strip I6. The ribbon so produced will have variations in color and variations inthe shade of a single color depending upon the 4position of the narrow strip 26 the number of folds produced in the wider strip I6 and the extent to which these folds overlap the .narrow strip.

When the ribbon comprises a. plurality of strips I6-I6 of the same widths. two such strips may be laminated together to form a structure as shown in Fig. 11. A layer I1 of plasticizerlis desired the layer may include adhesive I6 at the iii) edges of the strips. If desired, one of the plurality of strips I6I6 may have its longitudinal or `a different width may be folded between the seam formed by the edges of the strip l5 so as to form a gusset 21, as shown in Fig. 12, or so as to form a piping or beading 28, as shownin Fig. 13.

In Figs. 14 and 15, the two strips it, I6 comprising the ribbon enclose an insert of extraneous material which serves to strengthen the ribbon. In Fig. 14 the insert comprises single textile laments 29, `29 disposed between the two strips longitudinally and adjacent the edges thereof.

4The iilaments 29, 29 may be held in position by a layer i9 of an adhesive which is applied to the edges of the strips I6, i9 or to the filaments 29, 29 either before or during the formation of the ribbon. In another embodiment of the article, the insert comprises an'open mesh textile fabric cut into a strip 39 having a width not greater than the width of the non-fibrous strips |19, i9. The textile strip 99 is laminated between two strips I9, i6 of non-fibrous material to form a ribbon such as that shown in Fig. 15. It is to be understood that the inserts of extraneous material may be of the same color as, or of a, different color` from, the non-nbrous strips, so as to impart a decorative effect by augmenting or contrasting with the color of the non-iibrous material.-V The extraneous inserts may be held in position by means of non-drying plasticizer and/or by the use of an adhesive.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, what I claim iass new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1. As a tying ribbon, a narrow band of nonfibrous organic illm material comprising superimposed plies and a separate layer consisting of .nently exible condition.

a non-drying, permanently tacky, ilowable at ordinary temperatures and pressures plasticizer for said material disposedbetween said plies to cause the plies to adhere and to maintain the ribbon in arpermanently flexible condition.

2. As a tying ribbon, a narrow band of non- Iibrous organic lm material comprising superimposed plies formed by folding the material longitudinally and a separate layer consisting of a non-drying, permanently tacky, flowable at ordinary temperatures and pressures plasticizer for said material disposed between said plies to cause the plies to adhere and to maintain the ribbon in a permanently flexible condition.

3. As a tying ribbon, a narrow band of noniibrous organic lm material comprising super-` imposed plies formed by folding the material.

longitudinally in such a, manner that the number of plies is not the same throughout the width of the ribbon, and a separate layer consisting of a non-drying, permanently tacky, owable at ordinary temperatures and pressures plasticizer for said material disposed between said plies to cause the plies to adhere and to maintain the ribbon in a permanently exible condition.

4.-. As a tying ribbon, a narrow band of noniibrous cellulosic material comprising superimposed plies and a separate layer consisting of a non-drying, permanently tacky, owable at ordinary temperatures and pressures plasticizer for said materialv disposed between said plies to cause the plies to adhere and to maintain the ribbon in a permanently iiexible condition.

5. As a tying ribbon, a narrow `band of regenerated cellulose comprising superimposed plies and a separate layer consisting of a non-drying,` permanently tacky, owable at ordinary temperatures and pressures plasticizer for said material disposed between said plies to cause the plies to adhere and to maintain the ribbon in a perma- 40 ELI HYMAN. 

